India has won 41 medals at the Summer Olympics: 10 gold, 10 silver and 21 bronze. Its best haul came at Tokyo 2020 (7 medals, including Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold), followed by 6 medals at Paris 2024 (1 silver, 5 bronze). Eight of India’s ten golds came in men’s field hockey; the two individual golds were won by Abhinav Bindra (shooting, 2008) and Neeraj Chopra (athletics, 2020). India is now bidding to host the 2036 Olympics in Ahmedabad.
Quick Answer
Total Summer Olympic medals: 41 (10 gold, 10 silver, 21 bronze). First appearance: 1900 (Norman Pritchard, 2 silver); first official team 1920. First gold: men’s hockey, Amsterdam 1928. First individual gold: Abhinav Bindra, 10 m air rifle, Beijing 2008. Best Games: Tokyo 2020 (7 medals: 1 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze). Paris 2024: 6 medals (1 silver, 5 bronze), rank 71. Only athlete with two individual medals in one Games: Manu Bhaker (Paris 2024). 2036 bid: Ahmedabad; IOC confirmed India among 7 interested hosts in October 2026, with a decision expected around 2029.
India’s Medals at Each Olympics
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 Paris | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1928 Amsterdam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1932 Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1936 Berlin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1948 London | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952 Helsinki | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1956 Melbourne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1960 Rome | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 Tokyo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1968 Mexico City | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1972 Munich | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1980 Moscow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 Sydney | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 Athens | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 Beijing | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2012 London | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2016 Rio | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2020 Tokyo | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 2024 Paris | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 21 | 41 |
India’s Ten Olympic Golds
- Men’s hockey (8): 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980. The early teams featured Dhyan Chand, whose birthday (29 August) is celebrated as National Sports Day.
- Abhinav Bindra: 10 m air rifle, Beijing 2008, India’s first individual gold.
- Neeraj Chopra: javelin throw, Tokyo 2020, India’s first gold in athletics.
Paris 2024 Medal Winners
| Athlete / team | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Neeraj Chopra | Men’s javelin throw | Silver |
| Manu Bhaker | Women’s 10 m air pistol | Bronze |
| Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh | 10 m air pistol mixed team | Bronze |
| Swapnil Kusale | Men’s 50 m rifle 3 positions | Bronze |
| Men’s hockey team | Hockey | Bronze |
| Aman Sehrawat | Men’s freestyle wrestling 57 kg | Bronze |
Notable Firsts and Records
- K. D. Jadhav won independent India’s first individual medal: bronze in wrestling at Helsinki 1952.
- Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal: bronze in weightlifting at Sydney 2000.
- Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and P. V. Sindhu (badminton) are the Indians with two individual medals at different Games; Neeraj Chopra also has two (gold 2020, silver 2024).
- Manu Bhaker became the first Indian to win two medals at a single Olympics (Paris 2024).
India and the Future Olympics
- Los Angeles 2028: cricket returns to the Olympics in the T20 format, a likely medal chance for India.
- Commonwealth Games 2030: awarded to Ahmedabad.
- 2036 bid: India submitted a letter of intent in 2024 with Ahmedabad as the proposed host city. In October 2026 the IOC confirmed India among seven interested bidders; under the revised process, the host is expected to be chosen around 2029.
- Schemes: the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and Khelo India fund elite and grassroots athletes.
